The Truth About Google Algorithm Changes
Most bloggers and webmasters often wonder what’s the reason behind search engines changing their algorithms so frequently.
We believe search engines don’t do this without any purpose — they do it to ensure only relevant content shows up in search results.
All they want is for Internet users to get pertinent results each time they search for something.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
What’s more important are the behind-the-scenes changes that take place in the algorithm ranking. This ranking takes into account the relevancy of the search result before presenting it to the user.
In fact, this uncanny ability is what adds zing to the search engine algorithm and is also what beats SEO enthusiasts who are never sure if their painstaking efforts will bear fruit or not.
So, why do search engines guard these algorithms as though they were akin to rocket science?
It’s quite simple – search engines are more concerned about the experience users get each time they search.
After all, they wish to find what they are looking for as quickly as possible.
Hence, the onus is on the search engines to come up with relevant results from the maze the Internet is most of the time.
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How to deal with the frequent algorithm changes
Who wouldn’t want to have a website that performs well?
The best way to ensure that is to make your website adaptable to search engines, which is the basic tenet of SEO.
Here’s how you can do that:
Make your site spider-friendly
If the spiders can’t find you, all is in vain. A spider is a program that ‘crawls’ the Internet (your web pages) to get information that is relevant to a particular search query.
The spider crawling your web page is always on the lookout for external links to your website.
It can leap sprightly from page to page in a matter of seconds, checking your robots.txt file and sitemap as it breezes through.
- Spiders can sense instantly
It doesn’t take long for spiders to assess the value of your site. It is their job to crawl the Internet and index your web pages.
They store the information they collect in a vast database and use everything stored to calculate the relevancy of a particular web page, its page ranking, etc. This, in short, is how a search engine algorithm works.
Ensure navigation is easy
Easy navigation helps retain users and urges them to pass through the conversion funnel. Make sure your website has several small pages with categories divided in a very clear manner.
This helps visitors save time, and it’s also easier for them to find what they are looking for.
Research your keywords well
The very foundation of a website rests on good keyword research.
Keywords are crucial for a website, as they are the key to successful marketing.
People find it easier to locate the exact website they are looking for where they’ll be able to get relevant information. SEO experts believe that keywords can make or break a website, which is quite true.
Have well-structured pages
A well-structured website is visible and very easy to find. Users are guided to the information they are looking for within seconds, which helps increase the credibility and ranking of a site.
What’s more, Google’s spiders understand a well-structured site better. Apart from gaining better ranking in search engines, there is the benefit of increased traffic.
Make your pages readable
Don’t confuse the spiders and make their task of understanding a web page difficult.
Cramming too much information on one page can only create chaos.
Therefore, have scannable content on each page and make sure each page covers just one topic.
Focused and relevant content helps users find what they are looking for and makes the page search engine-friendly as well.
Deploy the correct anchor text
A hyperlinked anchor text attracts the attention of a user instantly and urges him or her to click on it to access the target web page.
Furthermore, these texts can lead to many SEO-related rewards. Simply linking back to blogs written earlier does not help search engines in any way.
However, linking back to your old blog with an anchor text gets noticed by search engines, as it carries important keywords.
Make your website popular
Your website needs to be visible. In order to enable this, you could take up blog commenting and other promotional activities like submitting your blogs to directories, etc.
Look for well-established websites that accept blog posts and try exchanging links with such sites.
Don’t forget the links
When a site has a good number of backlinks, that indicates its popularity with search engines.
The spiders consider backlinks as a good sign, which leads the site to gain a better ranking.
In addition, apart from boosting your credibility, backlinks give more information to the users and encourage them to come back to your website.
Internal links
Internal links are equally important as they enable a smooth transition to the relevant page without wasting too much time.
A site that has more internal links gives search engines an idea about the structure of a website. Thus, using a clever internal linking strategy helps boost SEO.
A successful blogger isn’t just a person who can write compelling content. They need to be aware of the nuances of SEO and how the spiders will react to the content.
It is important that no user is taken on a wild goose chase, hunting for some information that remains elusive. Such a user will never come back to your website again.
Final thoughts
The truth of the matter is that search engines don’t go about changing their algorithms without any rhyme or reason.
The problem lies with the mushrooming websites that mistakenly pursue a single factor of an algorithm for personal gains. This forces the search engine to change the algorithm time and again.
Nevertheless, just because we may not like the changes, it doesn’t mean they won’t do us good.
After all, playing by the search engine’s rules can actually help us build better websites that will provide the visitors with real value.
